Astana boss plays down Armstrong, Contador rivalry

ArticleData Array ( [Article] => Array ( [article_id] => 1044672 [headline] => Astana boss plays down Armstrong, Contador rivalry [abstract] => Astana boss Johan Bruyneel played down the rivalry brewing between team-mates Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador on the eve of the 2009 Tour de France. [keywords] => tour de france, cycling, armstrong, contador, astana [content] =>

Astana boss Johan Bruyneel played down the rivalry brewing between team-mates Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador on the eve of Saturday's opening stage of the 2009 Tour de
France.

Full coverage: SBS Tour de France site

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Bruyneel has a true embarrassment of riches in his squad with seven-time champion Armstrong possibly bidding for another crown nearly four years after retiring, while Contador has won three major Tours in the past two years.

The Spaniard's 2007 Tour de France success was followed by victory in both the Tours of Italy and Spain last year - the reason why Bruyneel has made the 26-year-old Astana's number one here, with Armstrong second.

Contador was only unable to defend his title in 2008 after Astana were not invited following the previous year's doping scandal when the team was under different management, with different riders.

‘Other cards to play’

But Bruyneel insists he is happy to have two world superstars in his stable with the Tour set to begin here on Saturday with a 15.5km time trial around the tiny Principality.

"If you have just one leader, you play all your cards with that one guy," explained Bruyneel, the Belgian team manager who has eight Tour wins on his CV.

"Everything depends on his performance and you can also lose everything.

"It happened during the Tour of Spain last year in the last week, Alberto crashed with about three or four days left to go.

"It was a nothing crash and luckily he wasn't injured, but he could have broken a collarbone and everything would have been lost.

"So we are in a position where we have other cards to play, which is a good thing."

Time and language barriers

While much has been said in the media about supposed frosty relations between the two cycling superstars, Bruyneel insists any lack of communication has simply been down to limited time together.

"There have not been a lot of opportunities for them to be together, apart from one day at the Castille y Lyon (race) when they both raced, but Lance crashed and went home straight away," he said.

"There are also the language and cultural barriers between them.

"But it is the same with the other riders on a team of 25-30 cyclists, their main opportunity to meet is at the January training camp, but that might be it for the rest of the year.

"If things go well on the road, you tend to see things going well at the dinner table, on the bus and in the hotel. I hope that will be the case here."

And when asked who was the best rider, Bruyeel gave the safest possible answer: "I think we will have a good indication after the first time trial."
 

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[content] =>

Once again, Cadel Evans is showing emphatically he has the natural ability to win the Tour de France.

But whether the Australian cycling star has the crucial mixture of strong temperament, good luck, team strength and the right circumstances from July 4-26 is another matter entirely.

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Only three days out from the race start in Monaco, Silence-Lotto team-mate Thomas Dekker was thrown off the Tour squad for doping.

Given Evans' well-documented problems with team support and his determination to have a calm preparation this year, the Dekker suspension is a multi-dimensional disaster.

Indeed, well before this bombshell, there was a nagging sense that Evans' chance might have passed to become the first Australian Tour winner.

The 32-year-old was runner-up to Alberto Contador in the 2007 Tour by only 23 seconds.

Last year, he was second again to another Spaniard, Carlos Sastre, by 58 seconds.

That's less than a minute per Tour after three weeks and about 3500km of racing.

Last month Evans showed perfect pre-Tour form by finishing runner-up at the Dauphine Libere, always a key lead-up race, as he has done for the last two years.

He excelled in the two time trials at the Dauphine and might have won the overall title, but for an unofficial alliance between race champion Alejandro Valverde and his compatriot Contador.

Physically, Evans was built for the Tour - Australian cycling coach Dave Sanders likens the 32-year-old's physiology to a diesel engine.

It is also notable that Evans actually suffers on the big mountain climbs.

The drug test results and cycling's rumour mill add further credibility to Evans' strong anti-doping views.

But the Australian has big challenges elsewhere.

Tactical challenges

The main knock on Evans' racing style is that he lacks tactical aggression.

There are also concerns about his ability to handle pressure - his outbursts during last year's Tour are popular snippets on YouTube.

True, Evans was trying to cope with nasty injuries from a mid-Tour crash that nearly put him out of the race. And even his staunchest admirers concede he is a unique personality.

But mayhem is the essence of the Tour de France.

This year's field is packed with potential winners, a double-edged sword for the Australian.

While the serious challenges will come from everywhere, Evans might have less of the limelight and this would not bother him one little bit.

There are four previous champions in Sastre, Contador, fellow Spaniard Oscar Pereiro and seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, while Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden have finished on the podium as well.

Four of those - Contador, Armstrong, Leipheimer and Kloden - are all on the Astana squad and one of the themes of this year's Tour will be how team boss Johann Bruyneel manages his talent.

Armstrong, especially, is not noted for gladly playing second fiddle to anyone.

An unexpected boost for Evans has come from Australian team-mate Matt Lloyd, who suffered serious back injuries in a race crash earlier this season.

Lloyd not only recovered from those wounds, but shot into Silence-Lotto's team and a Tour debut with a stunning ride at the Dauphine.

"He really proved he's a very worthy rider of the Tour ... it's been a really pleasant surprise, actually," Evans said.   

"He's at a level where he can really make a difference at the Tour."

Evans and Lloyd are among six, maybe seven Australian starters this year.

A ruling will decide whether Australia's Allan Davis or Belgian Tom Boonen will ride for Quick Step - the last Tour slot to be decided.

There's also in-form German Heinrich Haussler, who was born in Australia and intends to transfer soon to an Australian racing licence.

Simon Gerrans was a shock omission from Sastre's Cervelo team for the Tour, but Brett Lancaster is in the final nine.

Former top-10 finisher Michael Rogers and Mark Renshaw will ride for Columbia-HTC and the legendary Stuart O'Grady will support the Schleck brothers in the Saxo Bank team.

But the Australian focus will be on Evans, who is being careful these days not to be all things to all people in the eye of the Tour storm.

"My first coach Damien Grundy said a line which I will never forget, and it's especially important at the Tour - `you can't keep everyone happy all of the time and it's dangerous to try'," Evans said.

[content_type_id] => 3 [site_name] => World News Australia [articledate] => 3 July 2009 [articletime] => 3 July 2009 [display_order] => 0 ) [1] => Array ( [article_id] => 1044532 [headline] => Yellow jersey contenders step out of Tour shadows [abstract] => Who really has a chance of winning this year's yellow jersey at the Tour de France became a shade clearer a day before the race clicks into gear with a potentially revealing time trial. [content] =>

Who really has a chance of winning this year's yellow jersey at the Tour de France became a shade clearer a day before the race clicks into gear with a potentially revealing time trial.

Full coverage: SBS Tour De France site

Spaniard Carlos Sastre, the 2008 champion, is confident his two-tone Cervelo team can help him defend his crown - although his team owner Gerard Vroom admits it's not even their priority.

Race favourite Alberto Contador's chances were boosted after he was told he would have Astana full backing amid recent speculation that he could make way for seven-time champion and teammate Lance Armstrong.

Saxo Bank's team leader Andy Schleck, two-time runner-up Cadel Evans and Russian Denis Menchov remain the other main challengers - but all will be employing different tactics in a bid to triumph in Paris on July 26.

Schleck's team have promised to hammer themselves into the ground, as they did for Sastre last year, in a bid to get him into the golden tunic.

Not the best in time trials, 24-year-old Schleck's chances could depend on how much damage his team inflict on the peloton before the crucial climbs, where the Luxemburger will then have to outperform Evans, Menchov, Contador and perhaps a few other Astana riders.

But team boss Bjarne Riis, a master tactician, warned: ""We're ready for some big results, no doubt about that. Although Carlos is no longer here, we're ready to defend our yellow jersey."

Race may be ‘decided on the climbs’

A possible race decider is the climb to the summit finish on Mont Ventoux on the penultimate stage, and Schleck, a superb climber, added: "I'm pretty sure this year's race is going to be decided on the climbs."

For Menchov, little has changed in the past few days. The taciturn Russian who rides for Rabobank is "in great form" and confident after his recent triumph in the Giro d'Italia.

Evans arrives with arguably the strongest team at his disposal in years and because of Astana's presence he loses the race-favourite tag bestowed upon him last year when the
Kazakh-backed team were not invited by the organisers.

"With Contador and Armstrong back, and the fact Sastre's on another team and the Schleck brothers (Andy and Frank) leading Saxo Bank, for me personally it makes it better because more teams will be looking to control the race," said Evans.

But Evans, like many race contenders, believes Contador will have stepped up a gear since the Spaniard's third place finish behind Evans when the Australian finished second at last month's Dauphine Libere race.

"I'm expecting a much better Contador than the one we saw at the Dauphine," he added. "I'm sure we'll see the Contador of the past years here at the Tour."

Armstrong shown ‘loyalty and respect’

Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel meanwhile finally poured water on speculation that the Spaniard would not be given the team's full commitment.

"At the moment, Alberto is our number one with good reason and it was something I spoke to Lance about, because we want to show him some loyalty and respect.
"For me, it's easy to have confidence in him, because he's a professional bike rider and he just wants to win races."

Nearly eight years separate Contador and his 34-year-old compatriot Sastre, but the reigning Tour champion remains relaxed and confident about his chances - despite his team owner Gerard Vroomen admitting they were "not desperate" to win the race.

Sastre might not agree but he will have to cope with some of his team using precious energy on helping Thor Hushovd win the race's green jersey for the points competition.

The rather discrete Spaniard insisted: "I feel confidence in myself and my teammates.

"I know I'm not known for being aggressive. But I like being a dark horse, and I like to strike while the iron is hot."
   
 

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